CBP Officers in Falls Seize Cocaine Hidden Inside a Tire
And Other Sad and Stupid Cocaine-related Smuggling and Misdeeds

December 16, 2014

Giuseppe Tombolan Gonzales smuggled cocaine in the bellies of his St Bernards.

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. – Around midnight, last Thursday, a 28-year-old woman --whose name authorities have yet to release - gave up her freedom for what is probably years to come when she crossed the border, driving over the Rainbow Bridge with six vacuum sealed bags of cocaine, weighing approximately 5.5 kilos or about 12 pounds, hidden inside the spare tire of her car.

As the woman- a U. S citizen - tried to enter the USA, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers questioned her and made an inspection. Something led the officers to doubt and the woman was referred for secondary exam. An inspection of the vehicle revealed the spare tire looked a little strange. An exam of the tire resulted in the discovery of the vacuum sealed bags. The contents of the bags tested positive for the properties of cocaine with an estimated street value of just under $200,000.

Savannah Turachak dropped her bag of crack on police floor.

The female traveler was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI) Special Agents and charged with possession of a controlled substance.

Her story reminds us of one in Lima Peru, where Giussepe Tombolan Gonzales, 22, a Mexican-Italian, was arrested earlier this month for trying to smuggle more than six pounds of cocaine to his country inside the bellies of two St. Bernard dogs.

Local police chief Basilio Grossman said the drugs were placed inside the bodies of the dogs during an operation in a hotel room.

For several weeks, the National Police and narcotics agents were monitoring Gonzales' after receiving an anonymous tip about his illegal activities.

Gonzales was arrested in a hotel room in Augusto Pons Muzo in El Callao. Officers found a male dog named Bombon on the hotel's rooftop and a female called Lola in the bathroom. Both dogs had several cuts on their bellies. The amount of blood and the tools found in the hotel indicate that the dogs were operated on, and the drugs were placed inside their bodies in the same room.

Police Canine Unit brought the dogs to a veterinarian of the National Police, who removed eleven packages of cocaine from their bellies. The vet revealed that the animals suffered from grave peritonitis, an infection of the tissue lining the abdomen's inner wall, as well as high fevers and vomiting.

Bari Joy Williams, manager of a drug rehab center, caught with crack.

Bombon died from the infection. Tombolan was arrested.

Grossman said it was the first time Peruvian officials had found someone trying to smuggle drugs inside dogs.

It reminded us of a U. S. woman arriving last month from Georgetown, Guyana, at John F. Kennedy International Airport carrying three packages of custard and three packages of milk powder in her luggage.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said a K-9 unit dog smelled something other than dairy products and alerted its handler to the woman's suspicious suitcase. A baggage check turned up the packages labeled milk powder and custard powder. The substance inside was examined and tested positive for cocaine. The woman is facing federal narcotics smuggling charges.

That reminds us of a 23-year-old Savannah Turachak of Uniontown, Pa. The lady had a snoot full and had been taken to the police station and cited for public drunkenness. After police cited her, she was released.

Turachak left the station, but foolishly came back a few minutes later to report that someone had harassed her. While she was walking into the station she fluffed her shirt and unhappily a bag of crack cocaine fell out and landed on the floor.

According the station's surveillance video, Turachak tried to pick up the bag but left it when three people walked in behind her. The police then found it and charged her.

Turachak now faces a drug possession charge.

Which reminds us of Bari Joy Williams, 44, of Gardendale, Ala.,, who's in charge of Olivia's House in Birmingham - a residential treatment facility for people with substance abuse issues, who was caught smoking crack cocaine while driving a car with a five-year-old girl inside.

Police in Hoover, Ala., arrested after she was driving erratically on a state road last month.

The five-year-old girl was taken by a state Department of Human Resources employee. Williams was charged with chemical endangerment of a child, unlawful possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.

The cocaine seized at the Rainbow Bridge was vacuum sealed to ensure freshness.